Jobbik today is no longer a niche party, Vona said, adding that it has a stable electoral base and has been successful in becoming a people’s party. He said that more and more intellectuals, artists, athletes and academics are siding with Jobbik, which, he said, would be crucial in terms of its ability to govern.

He added, however, that many people in Hungary are still afraid to publicly back his party. Vona drew a line between what he called “20th century and 21st century parties”, placing Fidesz and the Socialists in the former and Jobbik and green opposition LMP in the latter category. Fidesz and the Socialists have created a “pointless divide” among voters, which he said had to be bridged in order for Hungary to be successful.

Vona stressed the need to establish a political centre, which he said should represent “modern, conservative and popular” politics. He added, however, that this did not mean that Jobbik was moving towards the centre, but instead meant that society was moving closer to Jobbik. “Left-right politics is done with, as there is no longer any meaning behind it,” Vona said.

Citing the migrant crisis as an example, Vona said that time and again Jobbik’s ideas “are proven capable of saving the country”.

Vona said one of the main areas in which his party must demonstrate credibility is fighting corruption, which he said was one of the “most uncomfortable” issues for the government.

Referring to Jobbik MEP Béla Kovács, whose immunity was suspended last month on suspicion that he had spied against EU institutions, Vona said that when the MEP’s case “becomes the biggest corruption scandal in Europe, then you know people have lost it”.

Ruling Fidesz in response said that Vona “has steered Jobbik into the gravest corruption scandal of Europe and put the party to the service of foreign powers.” The case of Béla Kovács coupled with Jobbik’s “anti-European and pro-Islam policy” amounts to a betrayal of Europe and its nation states, similarly to the left’s “support for unrestricted migration,” the party said.

Vona is no different from former Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány: they both serve the same cause, Fidesz insisted.

“We already know that Gyurcsány and his circles are paid by Brussels and George Soros,” the statement said, adding that the Jobbik leader owes the Hungarian people and the authorities combatting corruption an explanation about the interests it has been serving. Vona must also explain how much money the party has been receiving in exchange, said Fidesz.

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